Key case



G. R. HAWES Get. 17, 1944,

KEY CASE Filed Aug. 20 1942 IN V E N TO R Gio/wz /R f/A mad r TTORN YS Patented Oct. 17, 1944 UNITED STAT ES PATENT OFFICE KEY CASE.

George R. Hawes, Longmeadow, Mass, as si gnor;

to Buxton, Incorporated, Springfield, Mass, a

corporation of Massachusetts Application August 20, 1942, Serial No. 455,396

2 Claims.

This invention relates to key cases, and more particularly to the type in which the keys are supported in two banks;

One object of the invention is to provide a key case in which an inner or reserve bank of keys may be kept enclosed and in position during the normal opening and closing of the case in the use of the keys of the outer bank, thus enabling'little used keys or spare keys to be carried, as well as more actively used keys, without inconvenience in the useof the latter.

A further object is to provide a structure in which the key hooks or loops for both banksmay be so mounted in their support as to permit swiveling and bodily removal, in accordance with the best practice, without such freedom of movement interfering with the security of the reserve bank of keys,

Many key case users find it necessary or desirable to carry more keys than can be accommodated in the conventional size of key case. To meet this requirement it has been proposed to construct key cases having two banks of keys. The prior patent to Buxton; 1,674,032, June 19, 1928, discloses a key case of this type which, while giving reasonably satisfactory results, does not completely meet present day needs and has certain undesirable features which it is a further objectof my invention to overcome.

Other and further objects residing in the details of construction will be made apparent in the following specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the key case in completely closed'condition;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of ,the'structure shown in Fig. 1'; d

Fig. 4 is a front elevational View of the key case in completely open condition, that is to give access to the reserve bank of keys;

Fig. 5'is a fragmentary front elevational view of the key case open to give access to the active bank of keys only;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view 6--B of Fig. 5; and

substantially on line Figs. land 8 are fragmentary sectional views showing alternative Ways of fastening the parti tion member.

Referring to the drawing, the outer portion of the case comprises a piece of flexible material, preferably leather, generally indicated at Ill, which includes a back panel I l and two side flaps I2 and I3 connected to the sides of the back panel by hinge areas M which may, if desired, be provided with a plurality of crease lines l5 to increase their flexibility. A partition member i6 is hinged to the upper edge of the back panel ll. Partition member I6 is preferably relatively stiff as compared with portion in and as shown may be formed of two'pieces of leather H and I8 stitched together as at l9. Referring more par ticularly to Fig, 4, the partition is provided with a hinge portion 20 stitched at 2| to the top edge portion of the back panel ll. Hinge port on 2 extends between the back panel and plate 23 of the key holding device 24 which is secured to the back panel by rivets 25 extending through the plate 23, and both hinge portion 20 and the back panel, whereby the hinge portion is firmlysecured to the back-panel. The key holding mechanism as may be of any suitable form, but preferably includes a rigid member such as p ate 23 and the tubular member'Zli which extend across the upper edge of the back panel [I at the hinge of partition l6; and from which the swiveled key retaining loops 2! are suspended, to be swung in an are about the axis of cylinder 26, in slots 28 formed in the cylinder.

The width of partition i6 is preferably slightly more than the maximum width'of the average bank of keys It as indicated at a, so that the side flaps l2 and I3 engage the edge of the partition before engaging the keys. At least, the width of the partition is not substantially less than the dimension a so that transverse bunching of the keys is avoided. The dimension a is greater than the length of cylinder 26 so that'the partition it extends beyond the ends of the cylinder. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the key supporting devices are centered transversely of the partition member so that half of this excess width of the partition over the rigid member of the key supporting device is obviously positioned at each end of the rigid member. Key bank It carried by key holding device 24, comprises the reserve bank or the keys least frequently used. The partition is folded down over the key supporting means 24, and the keys carried thereby, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. -The free end 'of'partition I6 is provided with a flap 38 carrying one element 3! of a fastening device, the other element 32 of which is carried at the rear of back panel H. The bottom edge of the back panel is preferably recessed as at 29 to receive flap 30 and hold it against sidewise movement. The length of partition !6 is preferably such that when the partition is fastened in closed position by fastener 3 l32, the

upper end portion of the partition is drawn fairly tightly about the tubular member 26 and the lower end is brought closely adjacent the bottom edge of panel II, as shown in Fig. 6. By this arrangement the reserve key compartment 35 is generally triangular in cross section to closely confine the keys, the compartment being of greater depth where the overlapping key heads require most space and tapering toward the bottom where the narrow ends of the keys require less space. The relatively stiff partition pressing on the keys keeps them flat and in position.

It will further be noted that by use of a flap 30 as a means for holding the partition [6 in closed position, the partition proper engages the panel I I only at its lower edge so that the lower ends of the keys can extend to the bottom of the panel across the entire width of the case without sidewise displacement such as would be necessary if the snap fastener members were carried by the partition proper and the inner face of the back panel respectively. To obtain the desired result, however, it is not necessary that the fiap 33 be secured on the rear face of the panel. As shown in Fig. 7 for example, the position of element 3| may be reversed on flap 30, as at 3 I and element 32 placed on the inner face of panel II; or as another alternative, flap 30 may be lengthened as at 33 in Fig. 8 and inserted in a pocket 34 formed in back panel H.

The outer face of partition I6 is provided with a second key holding device 40, which may be entirely similar to device 24, and which is secured to the partition by rivets 4|. Key holder 40. will be used in the normal way for keys which are in frequent use. Side flaps l2 and I3 are folded over partition [6 as shown in Fig. 1 and secured in position to cover the outer bank of keys by*a fastener, the elements 42 and 43 of which are respectively carried by flaps l2 and I3. Fastener 42-43 may be, and preferably is, positioned in accordance with the teaching of Buxton Patent 1,966,429, July 17, 1934, that is the fastener elements 42 and 43 are placed on a line above the bottom of the ke loops 44 and above the line of greatest bulk at the heads of the keys. In the present case, however, the upper side portions of the side flaps are drawn against the upper edge of partition l6, as indicated at 45 in Fig. 2 rather than the rigid key holding means. The effect insofar as the outer bank of keys is concerned is substantially the same and the key case in the normal use of the outer key bank may be used as though the reserve bank of keys were not present. The latter, however, are rendered easily accessible when needed by releasing fastener 3!, 32 and raising partition [6.

If desired, the inner wall I! of partition I6 may be provided with slots 46 to receive an identification card or other similar article.

I claim:

1. A key case comprising a flexible case forming member including a back panel andv closure flaps hinged one at each side of the back panel, a key supporting device including a rigid tubular member secured to the back panel adjacent its upper edge for supporting a reserve bank of keys,

a partition member, substantially coextensive with the back panel and of a width at least equal to the width of said key bank measured across the heads of the keys, hinged to the upper edge portion of the back panel and foldable over the rigid tubular member of said key supporting device to bring the free end portion of the partition member closely adjacent the bottom edge of the back panel and thereby hold the keys of the reserve bank substantially immovable between the back panel and the partition member, a flap hinged to the free end of the partition member,

' cooperating fastening elements carried by said last-named flap and the rear face of the back panel to releasably hold the free end portion of the partition member closely adjacent the bottom edge of the back panel, said last-named edge being recessed to receive said partition flap to hold the partition against sidewise movement, a secondkey supporting device, including a rigid member carried by the outer face of the partition adjacent the hinged edge thereof for supporting a second bank of keys, said side flaps being foldable to and from overlapped position to cover and uncover the second bank of keys without disturbing the partition member or the keys covered thereby, and cooperating fastening elements carried by the side flaps for releasably holding the latter in case closing position, the rigid member of the second key supporting device being of less width than the partition whereby the upper side portions of the closure flaps engage the edges of the partition before contacting the ends of the rigid member.

2. A key case comprising a flexible case forming member including a back panel and closure flaps hinged one to each side thereof, a key supporting device including a transverse rigid member secured to the back panel adjacent its upper edge for supporting a reserve bank of keys, a stiffened partition member, substantially coextensive with the back panel, hinged to the upper edge thereof and folded over the rigid member of the said key supporting device to position the free end of the partition member closely adjacent the bottom edge of the back panel, means to releasably secure the free end of the partition in said position against sidewise movement, said means including a flap extending from the free end of the partition around the bottom edge of the back panel and releasably connected to the rear face of the back panel; and a second key supporting device including a transverse rigid member carried by the outer face of the partition adjacent the hinged edge thereof for supporting a second bank of keys, said side flaps being foldable to and from overlapped position to cover and uncover the second bank of keys without disturbing the partition member or the keys covered thereby, the ends of the rigid members of both key supports being spaced inwardly from the side edges of the partition member by an amount at least equal to one half th difference. in transverse width of said member and the transverse width of the average bank of keys adapted to be carried by the key supporting device.

GEORGE R. HAWES. 

